On the albums that preceeded In the Zone, Britney Spears appears as girl-next-store (...Baby One More Time), smoldering vixen (Oops! I Did it Again), and urchin streetwalker (Britney). For each album cover, there was a matching theme in the songs; ...Baby has an innocence never again seen in Britney (or at least, it's most convincing there); Oops! contains more defiant, self-assured self-promotion; and Britney was pretty horny for most of the 40+ minutes. For all three discs, there were laughs and tears, gyrations and empowerment, and generally a lot of fun... Even with the reflective tracks interspersed ("Not a Girl...", "Sometimes"), Spears remained effervesent throughout.

Suddenly, with the birth of Into the Zone, Britney gets really, really moody. Incorrectly equating sullen bass lines with maturity, Zone is one long grind. You can't really dance to most of it. You can thump against the partners of your choice while it's playing, but you can't really dance. It's a throb-only affair, culminating in a single wrist-slittingly-sad ballad.

The theme this time around is all about music, sex, and the mixing of both. Made entirely for a dank, dark, and sweaty club in a blackout, Zone is at times naughty and at times disarming. The haunting "Showdown" is simply creepy. Like some electronic siren ready to suck your heart out through your sexual organ, she spits out and creamy come-ons across a disarming, alien-like musical backdrop better suited for Gwen Stefani.

The sticky, dirty "Breathe on Me," a moaning strumpet of a song, is probably the best track. She sounds desperate for the sweatiest sex imaginable, and it features the best beats on the disc. Completely by-passing "I'm a Slave for You," she doesn't yearn for servitude; she just wants to fuck until she just passes the hell out.
The I'm-so-hungover anthem "Early Mornin'" slinks in early on the album (track 5), despite it's weary lyrics bemoaning the AM alarm call after a full-night of partying. It's sigh for "call all your boys, call all your girls" is reminiscent of the more versatile - take that any way you'd like - Christina Aguilera, but nothing happens. Maybe she finally passed out.

"Toxic," despite a catchy hook, blends with the rest, and wastes a pretty curious title. Finger-wagging at her phosphorous lover, the lyrics are pretty run-of-the-mill, and uses the expected terminology: "addicted to you," "intoxicate me now." It ends just as abruptly as it begins, which is a common trend of the songs on this album. It's all very much a tease; Britney gets you all worked up and then decides to move to the next boy before anyone gets off.

Moving on to self-satisfaction, "Outrageous" is Britney going on and on about her 'dancing' prowess. Right. The most outrageous thing about this song (written by sex-driven R. Kelly) here is the fact that it fades out. But she's not done with herself yet. She's just allowing some time to grab some tissues.

"Touch Of My Hand" has Britney tossing off... the notion that she needs a man (or a woman) to make her satisfied. Despite claims that the song's not about masturbation when she was interviewed by Diane Sawyer this past fall, Britney would do well to just admit it. It would actually be one of the most positive things she'd do with her music; you don't need to have sex -- you have yourself, and that's the safest sex imaginable. It is the most astute self-love song since "She Bop," and sung with far more ecstacy. This is a girl who really loves herself.

I'm not ashamed of the things that I dream; I find myself flirting with the verge of obscene.
Into the unknown, I will be bold; I'm going to places I can be out of control.

And I don't want to explain tonight all the things I've tried to hide.
I shut myself out from the world so I can draw the blinds and I'll teach myself to fly.

I love myself; It's not a sin.
I can't control what's happenin'.

'Cause I just discovered;imagination's taking over.
Another day without a lover, the more I come to understand the touch of my hand.

From the small of my back and the arch of my feet, lately I've been noticin' the beautiful me.
I'm all in my skin and I'm not gonna wait; I'm into myself in the most precious way.

- Britney Spears, "Touch of My Hand."
Unfortunately, she's taking a potentially beautiful (and bold) message and avoiding it entirely. However, Britney has done this before. When asked about her kiss with Madonna at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, she rolls her eyes, grins like a bashful child, and swears that she'll never kiss another girl again; what a notion! Instead of responding with something like "I kissed a girl; why should that be such a big deal," she shakes her head and explains it was all Madonna's idea. Oh, well, bad Madonna for coercing the clearly virtuous Spears.

Madonna makes her own appearance on In the Zone, although the two singers recorded their vocals in entirely different studios. "Me Against the Music" is the first single and music video, and a call to the dance floor. While it's perplexing what the hell she means by "It's me against the music," it's sapphic implications between Madonna and Britney are amusing - and hot - enough, Madonna's tongue crammed against cheek. The song also comes in Madonna-vocal-heavy remix form, from Rishi Rich for a bonus track to make up for the otherwise depressing close.

"Everytime," one of just two standard ballads of the disc (the dull "Shadow" is better left unmentioned), is guilt-ridden and vulernable. A heart-felt apology to a man she has wronged, Britney pleas for his ever-present visions in her head to vanish. It's easy to leap towards the Justin Timberlake conclusion. If it is indeed about him, it certainly is more effective than what was labeled his response to her: the unwaveringly bitter "Cry Me a River." Even though you'd like to paint Britney the bitch as often as possible, "Everytime" makes you feel damn sorry for her.
On the more bubbly side, there's the damn-perky "Brave New Girl," which just sounds like it should've been in the credits for Legally Blonde; it's definately pleasant, even strangely packaged between the two ballads. On the more irritating side of funky are "The Hook Up" and "(I Got That) Boom Boom." The latter features some sqwaking by the Ying Yang Twins; the former is just a ear-plugging screech, with Britney attempting No Doubt's Rock Steady sound.

Massively inconsistent - although for the most part, pretty decent - Britney seems less sure of herself than ever. There aren't any "Stronger"s or "Lucky"s, no "Overprotected"s or "You Drive Me Crazy"s. Instead, it's all about lust, and the consequences it presents. Y'know, the heartbreak. Not pregnancy or STDs or anything.
In the Zone (Jive)
Produced by Trixster; Roy Hamilton; Bloodshy & Avant; Mark Taylor; Moby; R. Kelly; Jimmy Harry and Shep Soloman; The Matrix; Brian and Josh; Guy Sigsworth.
Me Against the Music [featuring Madonna]; (I Got That) Boom Boom [featuring the Yin Yang Twins]; Showdown; Breathe on Me; Early Mornin'; Toxic; Outrageous; Touch of My Hand; The Hook Up; Shadow; Brave New Girl; Everyime; Bonus Remix: Me Against the Music (Rishi RIch's Desi Kulcha Remix).
Review written by George Blair IV, January 12, 2004.
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Images from britneyspears.com, madonna-online.ch, allmusic.com; manipulations by George Blair IV.